Hermione's Face
by Purlieus
Summary: One action didn't happen and the life of Hermione Granger was changed forever. This is an Alternative Universe fic where Harry and Ron never saved her from the troll in First Year.


Percy Weasley caught his baby brother scurrying away with Harry Potter and he barked at them to join the other to the common room, ignoring their protests. A troll was loose and he wasn't going to lose any of the students under his watchful eye.

Hermione Granger sat in the girl's bathroom and tried very hard not to bawl, but she sobbed nonetheless, the motion rocking her small body. She was angry at herself for being this upset about this, her feet stomped the ground and she shook her head, trying to calm down.

The hours spent in Florish and Blott reading, the wizarding library, the library on the island that got some books on wizard history for her sake and for those related to her, all of it was it in vain? It felt so pointless now having memorized all the information they provided.

She, Hermione Jean Granger, wasn't supposed to cry. Her first name given by her parents who both had names from Shakespeare's plays, Jean was the name of her mother's favourite horse and Granger because her family was from Pommelmoor, a small island off the coast.

Pommelmoor was a small island with a village or rather, a community on it, known for breeding horses. The island was loosely shaped like a saddle, hence its name. About two hundred people lived on it, a bit less. It was the kind of place everyone knew each other, they lived a sheltered life and were pretty self sufficient and whilst not being hostile, discouraged any strangers to move in there.

The island was protected by a list of tricky laws, protecting the forest growing on it and the houses people lived in. Everything on the island was 'museum value' meaning the houses were old and had to be kept in their original state, more or less, a law the inhabitants complied to happily. The youngest building on the island, minus the stables, was the hotel, built in 1932. Every house, shop and official building was from at least the 19th Century, if not older. Hermione herself lived in a house built in 1877 but it had been renovated many times, the outside and garden only remaining intact. If you would take away the telephone and power poles and the few cars, the island would look like a very well conserved relique. Even the people conserved their families and in the last thirty years, only five people outside the island had moved in there and that was through marriage.

In 1957, a rare, near instinct species of birds was found on the island and the forest, their nesting ground, was qualified as protected so little to no change was allowed to be done on their breeding ground. These birds lured avid birdwatchers to the island every spring, filling the hotel and bringing in money and nature activists who, for once, had very little to complain since all protocol related to animals and nature were scrupulously followed.

The horses of the island were magnificent beasts, big and muscular, thoroughly bred and kept in shape, tended with care by everyone on the island. They were the pride and joy of the isle and every habitant of the island could ride. The island had produced many professional riders, mostly within dressage and steeple chasing, and some popular jockeys. Throughout the years some professionals had brought glory to the island in the Olympics, their medals proudly framed at the hotel's entrance.

The horses of the island were carefully bred, every once in a while the island brought new horses from faraway places, a investment well worth it since with the horses often came strangers that stayed and married into the existing families. The people were like the horses, the characteristics of their faces matching those of where they were from. Whenever they went to horse shows, their stall was always in one of the top spots and the mention of the island alone could shoot up the price of a horse, even if it was only a descendent.

The two families mostly in charge of the horses nowadays, the Coppers and the Cantlers were related to Hermione. Everyone on the island was related to Hermione. The inhabitants of the island were as inbred as their horses and the rare birds.

Being from the island, you had that air that many people on the mainland identified with them. They had no negative connotations to people per se, the children attending schools in town were of the intelligent sort and the people who lived on the island and worked on the mainland, like Hermione Granger parents, were honest, precise in their work and friendly. Efficient people.

All this didn't remove the simple fact that they were from the Island. There were other islands but every talked about Pommelmoor as the Island and the ones from it were referred to the 'Islanders'. They all were together and they had their strange, extravagant homes, their children all stuck together in school, dated each other and married. The ones married into the island were people like them, often people who they had been in business with them for years with exotic faces and names. Supposedly some of the people from the island left never to come back, but in no one's living memory had that happened.

After high-school or technical school, the youngsters would leave for universities but they would always come back. The athletes, the riders and archers left for competitions and were maybe away for years but they always came back to the island, marrying their neighbour or cousin and sometimes their cousin who also was their neighbour.

The inhabitants of Pommelmoor were nothing but polite and welcoming to visitors. The ones who came for business were charmed by the old worldiness of everything, how clean and peaceful the island was. No hooligans, no complicated roads, no traffic jams.

That's why Hermione had been so excited to find out she was a witch, that she was different from everyone else. Maybe she was the result of an exciting mutation. Her life was beyond the island. Well she knew of the world beyond it of course, but it never seemed appealing to her but this world, the world of magic that was as well hidden as her own, a parallel universe almost, now that was exciting! She was the first witch of the island that they knew of, she was different and special after all! She was unique!

Unfortunately, it might be a parallel world but it kept all the characteristics of her own world. The inbreeding existed here as well, but it was worse, it had a quality of aggressive superiority her island hadn't exuded.

Being better, she had a reason to feel that, didn't she? She was the best in most classes.

This wasn't it. Foot hit the stones under her foot once more.

She was supposed to fit in, but no. They didn't value what she did. This wasn't what Pauline, her best friend and cousin, had feared, this was worse. Pauline had worried about attending school outside of the island whereas Hermione had been only excited about it.

There was a kindergarten and a small elementary school on the island. Hermione knew all her schoolmates and her teachers were related to her parents. Past seventh grade they had to attend a school on the mainland but that was only for the day. Pauline came home at the end of every afternoon and stayed on the island on the weekends. Hermione didn't have that comfort.

No. She stomped once more and again. NO.

She had nothing of her own world here, only a vague copy of the bad things. She was good, she was really good and it didn't get rewarded. This wasn't how the world worked!

Of course this was how it worked generally but she was 12 and had lived her whole life in the closest approximation of a Disney film you could imagine. This new world was ugly for her. 12 years old and Hermione was becoming a cynic.

If she would be in a film noir she'd walk up sensually to Ronald Weasley and tell him to fuck off. After that she would pour herself a drink, whiskey probably and smoke a cigarette but instead, Hermione sat down on the toilet and pulled up her legs against the door so they rested above her head. She indulged into a daydream where she looked like Greta Garbo for some reason.

Poker. Alcohol. Smoking. A small handgun with a nacre handle she'd stash in her stockings.

Yeah. She'll have on a black shroud that was really tight around her waist and her hair would be all neatly sleeked back in a chignon and she'd have on one of those hats with a veil across her face. And gloves, really soft leather gloves that has holes around her knuckles and she'd have on strong perfume, something like Chane-

CRASH!

Hermione got so violently startled she slid off the toilet and fell on the floor. Something was with her in the bathroom. Something stinky, big and powerful it seemed and now, more than ever, she wanted back to her island where the scariest thing was a horse on its flank with a broken leg.

An impressive amount of prayers and promises were said in a short amount of time as Hermione scurried for cover.

This. This wasn't planned at all. Was this … normal? Was this normal? A troll attacking students. Was this some kind of pest? Trolls didn't live in castles or forests, they lived in swamps and no marshland was closeby. But was troll fighting in the curriculum? Not for the first years, no, she had gone through her text books already. Maybe this was something for the older students?

These were very sobering thoughts after her day-dreams of self-pity.

Was this part of the curriculum? What the hell had she signed up for in this school? The witch who had told her about Hogwarts had explained there might be some things out of the ordinary but this? THIS? A TROLL?

Hermione shrieked. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. She had to calm down, she had to calm down, immediately. The troll smelled bad, of urine and something filthy but there was an under laying smell as well. Plaster exploded around her as the troll swung his club.

The smell was familiar. This troll was an animal. A dangerous, big animal with personal hygiene issues but an animal nonetheless. If anything, Hermione was good with animals and now, she knew no one would save her but herself so she rose up, not allowing herself time to register fear. She thought about the black shroud, the whiskey, the perfume.

She could do this, she knew it. Someone brought it in and it therefore, it could be brought out. Raising her arm, she flicked her wrist, let a few words escape from her throat and then, her feet moving steadily, she climbed onto the troll.

McGonagall was the one who got to the bathroom first and soon, she was joined by Snape and a panting Quirell.

If they would have had a camera, now would have been the moment to use it. Hermione Granger, a girl who was exceptionally clever, was perched on top of a troll, her legs dangling from his shoulders. The position had to be uncomfortable but she clung on, writhing her body as well as she could around the troll, hands firmly balled up around its ears. Her face was distorted with something akin rage as she pulled the trolls ears, screaming directions at it.

She made him turn so they faced the teachers who didn't exactly know how to proceed. Snape was the man of the hour then, sending a spell that petrified, temporarily, the troll. Its balance got lost and the troll started to fall backwards, a shrieking girl on top of it. Her pelvis would be crushed and the debris of the broken toilet stalls would not cushion her fall.

McGonagall yanked her wand and the troll started to fall towards them, but this would crush the girl's legs. The troll was therefore in a pending motion, going back and forth.

'Please, just hold it still so I can climb down!'

They did as she asked and professor Quirell ran up to her, offering his arm as help to get her off the troll. The man was ashamed that he had put a poor little girl in danger because of the Dark Lord's poorly thought plan.

Albus Dumbledore joined the trio of teachers and at the sight of his gentle, concerned blue eyes, suddenly, without any warning, much to her surprise and to her shame, Hermione burst in tears. Again. Professor Quirell looked very uncomfortable and ushered the girl to McGonagall, a member of the same sex.

'I wasn't scared at all when I was on top of it. I wasn't-' she sobbed, as if was trying to justify something and the older woman put her hand on her shoulder, patting it, nodding her head.

Gently, the headmaster led the girl to the Infirmary and whilst Madam Pomfrey checked for bruises and to her surprise find none, the teachers and headmaster talked. Their girl's sobs were more like hiccups now, but they provided a sad backdrop for their conversation.

Without waiting for questions, McGonagall started to explain what happened, what they had found.

'Albus, she was in top of it. She was riding the damn thing!'

'Yes, it was quite impressive.'

Albus looked at Severus Snape and if he was impressed, there was quite the reason for it. The situation had been dangerous and could have easily resulted in injury or even death, but the girl had taken the situation in control and had survived the whole ordeal with a shock.

Madam Pomfrey made a noise and a gesture, indicating she was done but her incredulous face was an indication that she wanted to say something.

The Headmaster moved to her and in a whisper she updated them on the girl's condition.

'_Nothing_. Not a broken bone, her hands are a bit rough and a nail broke and some splinters were on her legs but other than that, nothing! She didn't seem to understand what danger she had been in or then, she's used to these types of situations.'

Albus Dumbledore gently pushed aside the curtains around the bed. The girl was sitting on the bed, her legs dangling in the air. She had on infirmary robes because her clothes were probably ruined.

'Miss Granger, tell me, how did you come up with the idea of taming a troll.'

The girl gave a trembling smile and breathed in shakily before sniffing a last time. She took the handkerchief the headmaster presented to her and she blew her nose and wiped it clean. Except for her dishevelled hair and tear streaked face, she looked perfectly fine.

'I just thought of the troll as an animal and I have always rode horses and helped taming them and they are animals and trolls are something like animals and it was the only thing I could think about and...'

'Why were you in the bathroom and not in the Great Hall, were you ill? Did anyone know where you were?'

Hermione's face was now a faint pink and she looked away, embarrassed. If this would have been any other teacher, she would have lied and blamed her crying on homesickness but this was the headmaster and she wasn't sure if she was allowed to lie to him. She might get punished for it and at the very least, it won't make a good impression of her.

'Som-some boys said some unkind things about me earlier and... and... I got really sad and homesick so... I was in the bathroom because I was crying. Lavender, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil came by to check on me at some point but I just sent them away because I didn't want them to see my red face and...'

Her voice trailed away and she looked at her hands, trying very hard not to look as pathetic as she felt which turned out to be more difficult than expected.

Albus Dumbledore felt a wave of sadness wash over him whereas Snape just felt anger, recognizing too much of himself in the painfully awkward girl. He knew Harry Potter was behind is and for a fleeting moment, the urge to soothe the girl overwhelmed him and he stretched out his hand to which the girl reacted to. They looked into each other's eyes and not knowing exactly what to do, he smiled a strained smile. It looked stiff on his face, it looked planted but the effort touched her and she took his hand. Their hands hung oddly between them, her reaching out for it and Snape just kind of hovering over her.

'Is there anything you want?'

The fleeting moment of comfort was over as Snape dropped her hand. Hermione felt an opportunity to demand things, or at the very least bargain. But did she want to do so? Trolls and bullies. There are other schools.

'I want to ... go -'

Hermione stopped abruptly. No. She won't go home, not yet. There might be more to this world. But she could request for something and she knew that for this short while, the headmaster would comply, or at least consider whatever she'd ask for.

She also suspected that her family would start a scandal which the newspapers would love to pick up if he failed to comply.

'I want to ride horses again. I want to do archery. I want to meet my best friend Pauline and visit my family. I want to... I want... I want... I want to practice magic in my own space. That includes potions.'

Hermione, an only child, knew how to bargain for things. You always asked for more than you wanted. What she really was aiming for was weekend visits from Pauline.

Dumbledore nodded, thinking about how to comply with her demands which were sincere, heartfelt and not entirely impossible to fulfil. The longing for her family and her loneliness, not to mention courage, made him determined to help her.

Maybe horses would bring people to her. Having a horse on the ground was not impossible, he knew Hagrid would take care of it and judging by her shown skills in troll training and dedication to school work, she was responsible and mature enough to take care of a horse. If she truly had grown up with horses, then why not let her have her own here? Thestrals roamed the Forbidden Forest so the school grounds were plenty enough for a horse.

Dumbledore smiled to himself as he remembered his own youth, riding horses with friends, the horse carriages and made a mental note to bring the girl a book of practical spells about horses.

The Headmaster nodded solemnly and she knew he's keep his promise.

McGonagall took Hermione by the hand after she got Madam Pomfrey's approval . The girl waved goodbye to the men and nurse and they waved back, except for Snape who just nodded slightly.

Back at in the dormitories, Hermione was still in shock and she needed a shower so she went into the bathroom but all the stalls were occupied.

Her hands were dirty and her hair was probably dishevelled. She left the first year's room and peeked into the second year girls' bathroom and she didn't dare to walk in there because some girls were occupied around a mirror. The third year's bathroom was empty so Hermione tiptoed in. The older girls had told the younger ones to feel free to use their bathroom if theirs was occupied.

At first, she thought the bathroom wasn't as empty as she had evaluated it to be but then, Hermione realised the girl in the mirror was her and she got shocked back to her normal self. Among her prayers, she had promised to ignore her looks in advantage of school work in hope this dedication might save her life but seeing her hair, she felt a moment of hesitation.

That night, Hermione would have gone from bookworm extraordinaire to canonized know-it-all if it hadn't been for the mirror and Angelina Johnson, an older Gryffindor girl, asking her if she needed help with her hair. The older girl had walked in as Hermione washed her hands and face.

Hermione hesitated but all knowledge was good, so she nodded and with a few well places spells and charms, her hair looked sleek and fell with grace around her face. This pampering made her feel much better, better than she had felt in weeks and she smiled to Angelina through the mirror. She grinned back.

Maybe this school wouldn't be so bad.

Still sweaty but her hair clean and groomed, Hermione went to bed. The smell of sweat was nice, even the itch it produced felt good, familiar. She fell asleep, never telling what extraordinary feat she had accomplished.

It was the first Saturday of November, during lunch that Malachi, grandson of Jean Dark, the horse that Imogen had adored, got acquainted with his new stable under the watchful eye of Matthew Copper and Reuben Hagrid. The horse seemed content enough, probably because he was finally out of the trailer. The half-giant and young man looked at the horse as it took in his new home and after he drank, both men relaxed and started to talk about care-taking in friendly tones.

Meanwhile, Imogen, Sebastian, Juliet, Nicholas and Pauline Granger, respectively Hermione's parents, aunt, uncle and her best friend/cousin made their entrance in the Great Hall.

Hermione had been told that they would arrive but their presence, especially Pauline's, thrilled her nonetheless. It hadn't been sure is she would be allowed to come but Hermione had secretly hope they would let her. In a hurry, Hermione left her lunch to greet her cousin.

Both girls were wearing grey sweaters, purple trousers and black riding boots so when they hugged, it was difficult to tell which limb belonged to which girl. Maybe it was due to the clothes but the resemblance between the girls was disquieting. Both had the same bushy, brown hair, deep set eyes and overbites.

The four adults looked at the reunion, smiling, touched by the simple happiness the girls were emanating. They kept the theme of matching clothes it seemed, with the women wearing matching coats, gloves and boots, hair French-braided and twirled into a chignon at the base of their skull.

Only the men had on different coats, one of them wearing an olive green oiled coat that had been expensive but was quite used now but not in a shabby way. It was the kind of wear you got from using a good item of clothing, it exuded a certain flair, a certain sense of chic, the style of someone who had money for expensive hobbies and time for them. The other man had on a similar jacket, only in much better condition and in a slightly different colour, more brown then green. The one with the used coat had a leather rucksack strapped to his back whilst the other man had a leather satchel, similar to the Hermione had, slung over his left shoulder.

There were no doubt these two men were twins or brothers at the very least. The resemblance was baffling, indiscernible, unlike the girls of which one was slightly shorter than the other and had wider shoulders.

If you would have paid more attention to Hermione's looks, you could spot the differences but with a quick glance, it was difficult. Not that anyone had paid that much attention to what Hermione looked like, her attitude seemed to be in the way for that. Checking out a first year was also a social no-no.

Imogen and Juliet apologized for barging in uninvited on their lunch but they had arrived earlier than expected. They took off their gloves and shook hands with the staff, correctly identifying the Headmaster, Hermione's Head of House, Professor McGonagall and the two men who had helped Hermione. Snape's sympathy towards the girl dissipated when he noticed the careless love in the family and the money apparent in them. He had grown up with an alcoholic father who beat his mum who in turn, took it out on him.

Hermione Granger wasn't alone. She was alone without her family but reunited with them, they all exuded the same passive luxury that the Potters had had. Her parents were beautiful, refined people, they all matched in their tailored clothes and the matching everything was just overbearing. The eccentricity of it all seemed to betray even more their sense of under laying opulence.

The Grangers settled down at the Gryffindor table and had a light lunch, passive to the attention given to them. Lunch finished, Nicholas, Imogen and the girls left the Great Hall to check on Malachi whilst Sebastian joined Dumbledore in his office for coffee and paperwork and Juliet left on a tour of Hogwarts with McGonagall who mistook her for Hermione's mother.

Nicholas (twin, father uncle and vet) checked that Malachi had survived the rather long trip without damage and Imogen showed Hermione what she had brought along for the horse, petting him once in a while and Pauline helped them put everything in place in the otherwise empty stable. Matthew left with Hagrid to go to the castle for late lunch. Pauline and Hermione stayed at the stable, catching up on gossip and small events, dismissing their parents the way teenagers excel in. The girls had swapped gossip in letters but talking about the newest news in each other's presence made it exciting all over again.

Imogen and Nicholas walked to the castle where they bumped (literally) unto professor Flitwick that gladly showed them around Hogwarts, discussing architecture, delighted at their fresh perspective (ho ho). The headmaster and teachers found the Grangers to be exceptionally delightful people and all gladly accepted their invitations to join them on their island, the subject of so many myths and legends.

There were only visitors and there for a weekend but the presence of the Grangers made everyone very curious. How Hermione Granger had defeated a mountain troll had of course been the number one topic of discussion this past week and judging by the special treatment, it was true.

Speculations about Hermione were going wild and Alicia Spinnet and Justin Flech-Finchley were answering questions about Pommelmoor, seeing as both had been there at least once.

Everyone knew Justin was from a fancy family and it turned out his father's hobby was horse polo. The finest of horses was of course a must so he had travelled to Pommelmoor to get them and he had taken Justin along. The complete detachment of normal society of isle had impressed him. He had been there in summer when all the trees were blooming and the children rode the horses bareback with bare feet. He had seen a trio of girls (maybe Hermione?) encouraging their steed into a creek and had shrieked in delight as the horse walked into the water.

He remembered the peach brioches they had brought back to his mother. He told people about the old houses and the friendly people and the fruit trees you were allowed to eat from, no matter who you were. The three pictures he had from that summer were passed around countless of times and the horses were admired, the house in the background of one of the pictures was 'ooh'-ed and 'aah'-ed at and the rare bird was scrutinized, some fifth year promising it was magical.

Alicia Spinnet had been to the island, being from the town near it and all. Like every spring, her school had made an outing there to spot the birds and the inhabitants had been just as strange to her then as they were to her now. She didn't want to tell people about the oddness of the place but she suspected something leaked from her tone of voice.

She described the docks with old beautiful hotel and its restaurant, the market place, the bakery and tailor, the church and the pastel wooden houses, the utter feeling of walking in an anachronistic place. The synthetic quality of the isle was difficult to explain and the silent rebuffing of tourism as well. Alicia mentioned the behaviour of the people, how they stuck together and all knew each other and were family if not by blood, than by marriage, sometimes both and their ties island to the itself. She told them about the odd racial mixes that produced handsome children, boys with slanted eyes inherited from Mongolia and girls with hair so fair it was white, curtsey of Iceland.

Hermione went from being a geek to being a creature of great mystique; her knowledge was now a symptom of something special. Some students, Slytherins and Malfoy especially, tried to rebuff the attention but even they were interested in the Muggles. Muggle-borns and pure-bloods alike were curious about the place she stemmed from, curious about her parents and their habit of all looking alike.

Everyone spied as one of the girls, now both clad in white coats, was on the horse, bareback, gloved hands hidden in the mane, laughter trailing being her. The horse did some circles before breaking out in a gallop and after some time, the horse slowed down and trotted back to the stable.

The girl jumped off the horse without any fear, something quite amazing if it was Hermione, seen as the girl had trouble with flying. Then again, a broom wasn't a horse, for one it flied and second the horse was a living thing with a mind of its own.

The girl rubbed her ears and both disappeared into the stable with the horse, only to come out again when it was time for dinner. They ran, hand in hand, to the Great hall where they let go and to wipe their feet on the carpet.

The Grangers sat down at one of the ends of the Gryffindor table, to one next to the Head table. Fred and George Weasley as well as Lee Jordan had won the elbowing game so that Fred was sitting next to Matthew, facing Hermione and to her right she had George. Facing him was Lee who saved a spot for Angelina Johnson who in turn saved the spot facing her for Alicia who helped Katie Bell squeeze next to her. The Grangers smiled to them, Imogen and Juliet swapping stories of what they had seen, their husbands next to them discussing the itinerary for the next day. Pauline and Hermione elbowed each other and indicated the curious people around them. Matthew sighed, irritated at their banter so he was the one to break the ice with his table neighbour.

Once the ice was broken, questions started to pour at the visitors with Hufflepuffs chipping in once in a while with a comment or a question. They answered politely and precisely to their questions with the same air of quoting something their daughter had. People found out about the island, about horses and the doctors and the people. They were told of the baker and the tailor who knew how to cut clothes just to the right size, told them about their love of fish and the everlasting sea around them, told them about the houses and their traditions.

Hannah Abbot finally stated what most of the people had wondered about.

'You really look alike.'

'Nicholas and Sebastian are twins whereas Imogen and I are cousins. We were pregnant at the same time so we knew our children would look alike but I have to admit, I was surprised when they were born! They could have been twins! They still could be twins, even if Pauline is older by four days.'

The more they found out about the Grangers, the less they seemed to make sense but the more excited the students got.

After dinner, Pauline got permission to stay in the Gryffindor dormitories with Hermione, the parents retired to the teacher's lounge for a game of backgammon (and a drink) whereas Matthew accepted the invitation to visit the Ravenclaw's common room. A condition was imposed on him: he would have to play guitar and sing for them. Of course he agreed to this and many girls contained poorly their excitement, resulting in yelps of delight and clapped hands.

All of the 6th and 7th year girls had been fighting for his attention (the Slytherins maybe not as openly but all the more viciously) and much to chagrin of the other houses, the Ravenclaws won and Kitty Bluewell, the prettiest girl of all the 7th years invited him, with the permission of professor Flitwick, to their common room.

Matthew was 19, tall and strong with kind eyes and he could flip his long hair back in an absolutely irresistible arc. That, coupled with him playing guitar and the air of mystery made him a perfect heartthrob. The girls were willing to overlook his crooked nose, lack of magical ability and faint smell of manure if he could sing. Quickly realizing that he could sing and look really cool doing so, the girls lost interest their surroundings and listened to his guitar, preparing to gloat later on to the other girls. Matthew noticed that most of the girls didn't know much about music so he showed off and didn't care if he played a bit wrong because they couldn't tell the difference anyway.

On Sunday, Copper and the Grangers left, unaware of the ravage they had caused. The first Quidditch match of the year was coming up next weekend but everyone talked about the Visit, stressing the 'v', making it important enough to get capitalized. Only on Wednesday did Hogwarts wake up from its torpor and Copper and the Grangers were set aside to let the Gryffindors and Slytherins menace each other.

Hermione was seated next to Ron at the Quidditch match and when Ron screamed in horror and Harry held his broom to save his life, she saw Snape, muttering at the broom and she had her doubts but based on Hagrid's worried face, the animosity Snape seemed to nurture towards Harry and her teachers unpleasant snips at her about her horse, Hermione made a decision she probably would regret.

Leaving her seat and giving Ron a look to indicate the teachers' box, she left, running down the stairs, running half the length of the Quidditch pitch under the seats to get to the stairs closest to the teachers' benches. She then made her way up the stairs, her face red but keeping up the pace. By going under the benches and not around the seats had saved her time. Lee Jordan announced another goal for Slytherin as she arrived on top of the seating arena and stopped just a moment to catch her breath. Ron made big gestures, pointing her to her right and she caught up with Snape who walked along the benches, still muttering. Hermione elbowed her way to him, bumping violently into professor Quirell who lost his balance. With a small voice, she apologised to her teacher as she set fire to his robes. The fire wasn't going to burn the robes but he will eventually feel the heat.

He did feel the heat and Hermione jumped over Quirell who was readjust his turban, avid to avoid a possible confrontation.

Hermione went back to the flight of steps, just in case her potions professor would check around him for a culprit. She was at the bottom of the stairs as she saw Harry dive. Fear for the boy and her own lack of judgement dissipated when she realized that he was flying, not falling and as he coughed up something, she knew he was ok.

A feeling of relief swept over the girl. Hermione had done the right thing.

Gryffindor had won. Hermione turned on her heels and left the stadium and went to Malachi, ready for a ride, her heart light.

Her cousin, four times removed, Matthew, had made her popular and girls asked to see pictures of her family. No one safe Justin had asked to ride on Malachi but plenty of people had passed by, petting the horse and asking her questions about him.

Malachi was five and felt warm and secure, alive under her as they rode together. Hermione knew she should saddle him up but for short rides like these, it wasn't worth the trouble. She knew her horse and even if she'd fall off, help was nearby.

School was now oddly familiar, or rather the routine of it. Hermione woke up at 7 to take care of Malachi, ate at 8 and went to class at nine, passed by around noon and again after class when she took him out for a longer ride. Her sleep was deep and her legs ached in a pleasant way. She knew she was going to be part of the landscape soon enough but she didn't mind, because everything was much better now.

When she was done riding, she heard a knock as she left the stables. Ronald Weasley was enthusiastically waving her to come in to Hagrid's hut, pantomiming pouring tea.

Hermione Granger put one foot in front of the other and Hagrid opened the door for her and she beamed back at the two boys smiling at her.

This is how Hermione Granger from Pommelmoor became friends with Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley.

In all honesty, when Hermione had found out Malachi was to join her at Hogwarts, she had been apprehensive. Horses were herd animals and singling one out was only done in cases of illness. Malachi had been fighting for dominance, true and was a bit on the wild side still, even if he wasn't exactly a colt anymore, being a bit over five years old now, but still.

Hagrid had provided his dog Fang as a stable companion which would prevent stable vices. Hermione visited Malachi often and took him out on long rides around the castle, careful to avoid the forest that might scare the horse. Hagrid had provided invaluable help, taking the horse out when she had classes. He also fed him and helped her clean the stall as well as groomed him.

Hermione had been careful to let no one near her horse that she didn't know. Most people avoided it but some people, like Justin, were eager to see it. Justin could ride and sometimes when Hermione wanted to read she let Justin take him out for a ride.

The Care of Magical Creatures professor, Silvanus Kettleburn had gladly offered help around Christmas to bring Malachi home for the holidays. Much Hermione's relief Malachi had no problem assimilating himself back to the herd and took him back for the spring term.

Kettleburn had given Hermione a book on different equine species for Christmas, some of which were found in the Forbidden Forest and Hagrid wondered if he could present Malachi to a unicorn, creatures known to be calm and friendly. The book given by the teacher was much read by her uncle and the subject of crossbreeding was much discussed with Hagrid and Kettleburn.

When Draco, Harry, Hermione and Ron got sent to the Forbidden Forest, she felt apprehensive. She knew just as well as Hagrid that unicorns were very difficult to hurt and whatever had done it would definitely overpower them.

What she hadn't expected was the centaur which made her very, very curious but also made her timid. The centaur also looked at her and she felt self-conscious, wondering if felt some kind of contempt for her because she was a rider.

'There's summat bad loose in this Forest. This is Harry Potter an' Hermione Granger, by the way. Students up at school. An' this is Ronan, you two. He's a centaur.'

'G-Good evening.' Hermione whispered and tried not to stare too much as she drank the sight of him. He was a tall, at least 17 hands. His hair and beard was red and Hermione wondered if his hair trailed his back to form a mane. His coat was a dark brown with tinges of red. She wanted to go up to him and evaluate his weight and the finer anatomical differences but that would be rude so instead, she looked at the ground, at his hooves and sometimes darted his eyes up his face.

'Good evening' said Ronan 'Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at school?'

Hermione nodded eagerly and this time he seemed to pay more attention to her.

'You're the girl with the horse.'

This time, Hermione's nodding was more cautious. Oh no, what was she supposed to say now?

'Your horse seem to have adjusted well.'

'Oh I hope he's happy and doesn't get too lonely. He seemed to adjust to the herd back home just fine but I don't know here. He has a stable companion but I'd like him to have company of his own kind.'

Hermione wondered if the last sentence was not a gaffe. She hadn't meant him at all but the centaur nodded.

He threw back his head and said 'Mars is bright tonight.'

This marked the end of their short conversation.

Later, when they found out about the dead unicorn, Hermione had been concerned about Malachi's safety and put a spell that drove away wolves around the stables and asked Hagrid to make up a fenced up pasture for the horse. Since the unicorn's death, all plans of crossbreeding were set aside and Hermione decided she wouldn't take Malachi with her the next school year. Her horse couldn't defend himself like she could.


End file.
